by InsidePOOL Staff

Ramilo Tanglao snatched the Tri-State Tour’s title from the grasp of Gail Glazebrook, besting her in the finals to take the title October 16. The $750-added event was hosted by Master Billiards in Queens, NY, and drew 18 C-D players.

Ramilo Tanglao snatched the Tri-State Tour’s title from the grasp of Gail Glazebrook, besting her in the finals to take the title October 16.

Glazebrook went undefeated through the field to the finals, winning over Louie Alicea 7-5 in the winners’ side final four to advance to the hot seat match. There she faced off against Alan Chan, who was just through sending Tanglao to the one-loss side 6-2. The hot seat match was as close as close could be, but Glazebrook edged out Chan 6-5 to remain unscathed and send him west.

On the left side of the chart, Tanglao rebounded quickly, meeting Sameer Mohamed and eking out a 6-5 victory. Tying for fifth place with Mohamed was Alicea, who was eliminated by Kapriel Delimelkonoglu 7-4. Tanglao and Delimelkonoglu collided in the quarterfinals, where Tanglao survived yet another hill-hill match to advance.

Tanglao took two games for every one Chan took in their semifinal match as he sent Chan home in second place 6-3. In the finals Tanglao faced off against the unscathed Glazebrook, and though the match was even in the beginning, slowly Tanglao began to pull away until he was able to claim the title 8-4.

Results:
1st Ramilo Tanglao $430
2nd Gail Glazebrook $200
3rd Alan Chan $100

by InsidePOOL Staff

Recent Ozone Billiards Predator Tour victor Daniel Dagotdot visited the Tri-State Tour’s September 25 event to further prove his prowess, skating to victory over Yomaylin Fliz in the finals. The A-D event was hosted by Master Billiards in Queens, NY, and featured 37 players fighting for the $1,000-added prize purse and Lucasi break cue.

Recent Ozone Billiards Predator Tour victor Daniel Dagotdot visited the Tri-State Tour’s September 25 event to further prove his prowess, skating to victory over Yomaylin Fliz in the finals

While Dagotdot fought his way through the one-loss side of the chart, Fliz went undeterred through the right side, defeating George Osipovitch 6-4 to reach the hot seat match. Her opponent was Wilson Cruz, who had just defeated Wilfredo Albray 7-3. The hot seat match was as close as possible, going double-hill before Fliz edged out Cruz 9-8.

After eliminating Ed Culhane 7-6, Dagotdot went on to face down Scott Simonetti 7-1. In his next round he faced off against Albay, who was fresh from his winners’ side defeat by Cruz. He sent Albay home with a 7-5 victory to move on to the quarterfinals against Ron Mason. Another tight match ensued, but Dagotdot pressed on for a 9-7 win. It was touch and go again for him in the semifinals against Cruz, as Dagotdot squeaked past him 7-6. In the finals, though, he kept a bigger margin of safety around him as he defeated Fliz 11-5 for the title.

Results:
1st Daniel Dagotdot $670
2nd Yomaylin Fliz $430
3rd Wilson Cruz $270
4th Ron Mason $160
5th Wilfredo Albray $105
George Osipovitch
7th Scott Simonetti $80
Alan Chan

On September 11-12, Tony Robles spearheaded the $1,000, added 1st Annual Reverend Clarence Keaton Memorial Tournament, as the 14th stop on the Ozone Billiards Predator Tour 2010 season. Reverend Clarence Keaton, known as “The Rev” by many players, frequented Master Billiards (where the memorial event was held), along with many other New York pool rooms. Well-loved by many members of the pool community, Reverend Clarence Keaton lost his battle against cancer last year. Reverend Keaton was a close friend of tour founder Tony Robles, and would regularly drive to the US Open and The Super Billiards Expo with Tony and his son Shawn Keaton, who is one of New York’s top emerging talents.

On September 11-12, Robles spearheaded the $1,000, added 1st Annual Reverend Clarence Keaton Memorial Tournament, as the 14th stop on the Ozone Billiards Predator Tour 2010 season.

Along with Shawn, a number of other up-and-coming players competed in the A/B/C/D 9-ball event in this memorial, including John Alicea, Noel Bensurto, Daniel Dagatdot, Jerry Tarantola, Mike Panzerella, and Stewart Warnock. In total, 70 of New York’s top players came out to help memorialize “The Rev’s” presence and influence on pool in NYC.

The story of the Amateur event of the Ozone Billiards Predator Tour 9-ball championships was centered around the transition of Daniel Dagotdot from a B player to an A player. Daniel has been playing progressively stronger, and building confidence in his game and tournament play. This up-and-coming
Fil-Am pool player has been impressive in a combination of dominant and clutch wins, helping him pull all of the pieces of his game together in a way that is a threat to any pool player in the NY landscape.

Daniel went through the field undefeated with wins over Tony Liang 7-5, Ed Culhane 7-4, John Alicea 7-4, Alex Gilvarg 7-4, Steve Wright 7-2, and ultimately Andrew Kane 7-4. Andrew Kane bounced back with a “W” over Arturo Reyes 7-5, giving him the re-match opportunity. In the final match, Daniel capped off an impressive tournament with a dominant performance, which led to a dominant 7-2 win for his first Ozone Billiards Predator Tour 9-ball win. In July’s tour stop at Amsterdam Billiards, Daniel had finished second
to John Alicea in the finals, and showed the field in this event that his close loss in the finals fueled him to take his game to the next level.

Other stand-out players in this event were Gail Glazebrook, who won a total of four matches, but lost one round before the money, along with Arturo Reyes and Steve Wright, who both showcased heart and explosive play.

Mariah Carey and Clarence Keaton.

Final Results
1st: Daniel Dagotdot $1,000
2nd: Andrew Kane $600
3rd: Arturo Reyes $400
4th: Steve Wright $300
5/6th: Patrick Meyers, Alex Gilvarg $200
7/8th: Luis Novas, Stewart Warnock $150
9-12th: Alberto Estevez
Willie Santiago, Mike Hertz, Juan Guzman $100

Kicking off late Saturday afternoon, the Open/Pro 10-ball event featured top-level talent such as Hunter Lombardo, Holden Chin, Jeremy Sossei, George Sansouci, Mike Miller, Sean Morgan and Zion Zvi. Top NY female player “Snooky” Diana Rojas showed a lot of heart to tangle with the big boys in
this event as well.

Top Florida pro player Hunter Lombardo stayed around NY long enough after the Seminole Empire State 10-Ball Championships to participate in this 10-ball event. Hunter opened with an impressive 8-3 win over Holden Chin, as well as a clutch hill-hill victory over Mhet Vergara, before losing to Tony
Robles 8-6 and Ginky 8-5.

Tony Robles brought his “A” game, and was determined to honor his late friend Clarence Keaton by showing the heart that “The Rev”, as he is known by his friends, always brought to the table. Tony defeated Phil Davis 8-5, Jeremy Sossei 8-6, Hunter Lombardo 8-6, and “Alaska” Sean Morgan 8-3… earning a spot in the finals undefeated. Meanwhile, Sean Morgan had been turning heads with gritty play, defeating Zion 8-4, Mike Wong 8-7, and Jerry Tarantola 8-6, before losing to Tony Robles 8-3, then Jeremy Sossei 8-7.

Robles brought his A game, and was determined to honor his late friend Clarence Keaton.

Young gun Jeremy Sossei opened up with an 8-6 win over Diana Rojas before losing to Tony Robles 8-6. However, Jeremy dug deep to grind back from the one-loss side to eventually meet Tony Robles in the finals for a rematch. Jeremy’s road to the finals led him through Zion Zvi 8-6, Mike Miller 8-2,
Jerry Tarantola 8-6 and Ginky 8-7. Jeremy followed the semifinal up with another hill-hill match in the finals to capture top honors in the 1st Annual Clarence Keaton Memorial.

Tony Robles and the Predator Tour would like to thank their sponsors:
Predator Cues, Poison Cues, Ozone Billiards, Delta-13 Racks, The Seminole Tribe of Florida, The Seminole Pro Tour, Poolonthenet.com, AZBilliards.com, www.pool.bz, Billiards Press, Cuetable.com, Master Chalk, RJH Custom Cues, Webb Custom Cues, Jim Murnak Cue Cases, Go4Pool.net, NYCgrind.com, Billiards Digest, Inside Pool Magazine, Pool & Billiards Magazine, Maxim Billiards & The Tournament Guide.

Open/Pro Final Results:
1st: Jeremy Sossei $800
2nd: Tony Robles $500
3rd: Sean Morgan $345
4th: George Sansouci $200

by Jerry Tarantola, NYCgrind.com

Thomas Wan and Tony Robles won their respective divisions on the Ozone Billiards Predator Tour’s June 5-6 stop, taking first place in the amateur and open/pro events, respectively. The tour’s ninth stop of the season was hosted by Master Billiards in Queens, NY, where 66 of the strongest players in the tri-state area came out to compete at the $1,000-added event to show they have the grit to fight through the tough field.

Dinko Busanich showed a lot of heart in the amateur division, going through several gritty matches as he fought through the winners’ bracket to earn a spot in the finals. Busanich went through Carl Yusef Khan 7-3, Mike Panzarella 7-6, Jerry Tarantola 7-6, Daniel Dagotdot 7-5, Thomas Wan 7-4, and Mike Hertz 7-5 to reach the finals.

On the one-loss side, there were a lot of warriors battling for the chance to come from behind to make a statement. While there were stand-out performances by Raphael DaBreo, John Hacsi, Dave Shlemperis, Arturo Reyes, Lionel Rivera, Michael Hertz, and Daniel Dagotdot, only one player reached the finals unscathed. Long-time tour player Wan was impressive by defeating Mike Wong 7-3, Rivera 7-5, Stewart Warnock 7-6, Rivera again 7-5, Shlemperis, and Hertz 7-4 to get a shot at Busanich in the finals. There Wan was dominant by putting up a solid 9-5 score to capture his first Ozone Billiards Predator Tour win.

Early on in the open/pro 10-ball event, Master Billiards house pro George “Ginky” Sansouci made a big statement by playing nearly flawless pool in a dominant 8-2 victory over reigning U.S. Open champion Mika “Iceman” Immonen. Immonen won his next match 8-6 against a game Arturo Reyes before getting bumped out of the event by Marc “Spain” Vidal.

On the lower half of the bracket Tony “The Silent Assassin” Robles was silently taking down his competition, going through Ron Mason, Zion Zvi, Marc Vidal, and then an impressive 8-4 win over Jeremy Sossei to reach the hot seat. Sossei bounced back from the loss to Robles by defeating visiting player Marco Tschudi of Switzerland 8-3 to set up a rematch with Robles. Tschudi was turning heads with his fast-paced game with wins over Mike Miller 8-4, Zvi 8-5, Sansouci 8-3, and Vidal 8-6 before Sossei eliminated him. In the finals, the Ozone Billiards Predator Tour founder and battle-tested veteran Robles defeated Sossei 8-4 for his second win of the season.

The tour’s ninth stop of the season was hosted by Master Billiards in Queens, NY, where 66 of the strongest players in the tri-state area came out to compete at the $1,000-added event to show they have the grit to fight through the tough field.

Robles and Sossei

by InsidePOOL Staff

Geoffrey Bauer worked his way through the west side of the chart to take top honors at the May 1 installment of the Tri-State Tour. Hosted by Master Billiards in Sunnyside, NY, the $750-added, B-D stop attracted 30 players.

Bauer suffered a second-round loss to Andrew Kane 7-2 and fought his way through the one-loss side. Kane, though, breezed through to the winners’ side final four, where he faced Emily Duddy in a hill-hill match that he ended up taking 7-6. Moving on to the hot seat match, Kane played Billy Cheng, who had just bested Kevin Early 7-4. It was another hill-hill match for Kane, and he again won 7-6.

On the west side, Bauer faced down Chris Karp 7-5 and Sam Li 7-6 before meeting up with Duddy after her loss to Kane. Duddy fell to Bauer 7-5 and took home fifth place. Tying with her was Rajesh Vannala, who was bested by Kevin Early 8-5. In the quarterfinals, Bauer took on Early and sent him home in fourth with a 7-4 victory.

After a tight 7-5 win over Cheng, Bauer moved on to the finals to face Kane for the second time that day. He wreaked revenge on Kane, winning the final match with a strong 9-4 score.

Geoffrey Bauer worked his way through the west side of the chart to take top honors at the May 1 installment of the Tri-State Tour.

by InsidePOOL Staff

Twenty-four players gathered to vie for the top prize at the Tri-State Tour’s April 10 stop, and it was Basdeo Sookhia who went undefeated to claim it. The $750-added 9-ball event was hosted by Master Billiards in Queens, NY.

Sookhia cruised to the winners’ side final four, where he faced off against Raphael DeBreo and sent him packing to the one-loss side with an easy 7-1 win. He then moved on to face Gary Murgia, who had just bested Raul Reyes 7-2. The hot seat match was another rout, with Sookhia earning the win 7-1.

On the west side of the chart, DeBreo came out the winner of a hill-hill bout with Rajesh Vannala 7-6, while Reyes also came out ahead of his match with Ramilo Tanglao 7-5. These two met in the quarterfinal match, and it was DeBreo who advanced 7-4.

DeBreo also managed to fight off Murgia in the semifinals, sending him home in third place with a 7-0 whitewashing. In the finals, though, Sookhia and DeBreo fought to 5-all before Sookhia surged ahead to take the final two racks and the title.

Results:
1st Basdeo Sookhia $680
2nd Raphael DeBreo $350
3rd Gary Murgia $150
4th Raul Reyes $100

by InsidePOOL Staff

Twenty-eight players showed up for the February 6 installment of the Tri-State Tour, and Duane Toney bested them all to win the title. Hosted by Master Billiards in Queens, NY, the C-D handicapped stop featured a $750-added prize purse.

Toney went undefeated through the field, defeating Charles Vergara 6-4 in the final four of the winners’ bracket. Meeting him in the hot seat match was Raul Reyes Jr., fresh off a 6-4 victory over Kapriel Delimelkonoglu. Their match was as close as possible, but Toney prevailed 6-5, sending Reyes to the west side.

On the left side of the chart, Vergara recovered from his earlier loss, eliminating Mike Garreta 6-4, while Delimelkonoglu was ousted by Wilfredo Albay 6-3. In the quarterfinal match, Albay pressed on, sending Vergara home in fourth place 6-3.

Twenty-eight players showed up for the February 6 installment of the Tri-State Tour, and Duane Toney bested them all to win the title. Hosted by Master Billiards in Queens, NY, the C-D handicapped stop featured a $750-added prize purse.

Results:
1st Duane Toney $615
2nd Raul Reyes Jr. $340
3rd Wilfredo Albay $215
4th Charles Vergara $110
5th Kapriel Delimelkonoglu $65
Mike Garreta

by InsidePOOL Staff

Though he had undergone surgery only three weeks prior, Paul Everton couldn’t resist the urge to get out November 21 and play some pool. He went to the Tri-State Tour’s stop at Master Billiards in Queens, NY, joining 27 other players at the B-D tournament, and took home the winner’s share of the $750-added prize purse with his finals victory over Justice Eagan.

Eagan was responsible for sending Everton to the one-loss side of the chart in his quest for the hot seat. After a 7-4 defeat of Everton, Eagan moved on to face Rene Villalobos, who had just bested Romeo Singh hill-hill, in the hot seat match. Another double-hill bout ensued, with Eagan moving onto easy street while Villalobos was sent west.

Tour regular Emily Duddy was working her way through the one-loss side, notching wins over Ronny Cochachi 7-6 and Masatoshi Ebihara 7-4 before meeting Singh, fresh off his winners’ side match with Villalobos. After she trounced Singh 7-2, she moved on to the quarterfinal match against Everton, who had survived a hill-hill nail-biter against Ron Mason. There Duddy’s tournament ended, as Everton advanced with a 7-3 win.

Though he had undergone surgery only three weeks prior, Paul Everton couldn’t resist the urge to get out November 21 and play some pool. (L-R) Justice Eagan, Paul Everton

A 7-4 victory over Villalobos propelled Everton to the final match against Eagan. This rematch was a long, drawn-out battle, in which only ball in hand at hill-hill determined the victor—Everton had a dead combination on the 9 ball and made it to win the final match 9-8.

Results:
1st Paul Everton $650
2nd Justice Eagan $345
3rd Rene Villalobos $220
4th Emily Duddy $100
5th Ron Mason $55
Romeo Singh

by InsidePOOL Staff

Thirty players showed up for the October 17 installment of the Tri-State Tour, but it was Yomaylin “Smiley” Feliz who walked away the big winner, taking her first title on the tour. The event was hosted by Master Billiards in Queens, NY, and featured a $500-added prize purse.

Going unchallenged through the entire event, Feliz matched up with Duane Toney and sent him to the left side of the chart 7-4 to reach the hot seat match. Her opponent there was Nicholas Chan, who was just coming off a 6-5 defeat of James DeGiosafatto. Chan fell short against Feliz 7-4 and went west to try and stage a rematch in the finals.

Thirty players showed up for the October 17 installment of the Tri-State Tour, but it was Yomaylin “Smiley” Feliz who walked away the big winner.

Results:
1st Yomaylin Feliz $650
2nd Paul Everton $330
3rd Nicholas Chan $190
4th Diana Rojas $100
5th James DeGiosafatto $50
Duane Toney

by Lea Andrews

June 6 was John Alicea’s day to shine, and his undefeated run through a field of 48 earned him first place on the Tri-State Tour stop. The $1,500-added double points A-D event was hosted by Master Billiards in Sunnyside, NY, and was sponsored by Sterling Games and Ozone Billiards.

The tournament featured separate brackets for A-B and C-D players in the earlier rounds, and a mixed field for the later rounds. Alicea plowed his way through the winners’ side of the A/B bracket, ultimately taking down Tony Eglesias 8-7. Meanwhile, Alicea’s opponent for the hot seat match, C-ranked Alex Berszinn, was working his way through the C/D bracket, ending with a 6-3 win over Nicholas Cahn.

On the one-loss side, still in separate brackets, players were fighting to get to the mixed-field bracket. In the A-B bracket, Tony Panzarella earned his spot with a 7-6 win over Stuart Warnock, while Bernie Chua earned the C-D spot with an 8-2 win over Ron Mason.

The mixed-field bracket pitted B+-ranked Panzarella against Chua, who moved up to a D+ during the tournament, and Eglesias against Cahn. Panzarella and Eglesias moved on with 9-7 and 7-6 wins, respectively, and their face-off was set.

Meanwhile, in the hot-seat match, Alicea dominated Berszinn 10-6, sending him to meet the victor of the Panzarella/Eglesias match, which turned out to be Eglesias with a 7-5 win. Eglesias was ready for his rematch with Alicea, but he needed to get through Berszinn—he took the match hill-hill and put Berszinn in third.

For Eglesias to win the event, he would need to reach 8 games first, at which point the race would be extended to 10, while undefeated Alicea would win if he reached 8 games first. Eglesias got to a 5-1 and then 6-2 lead, but Alicea tied it at 6. Eglesias took the next five racks in a row, but Alicea, in whom many see the spark of a future world champion, was not going to let the race go long—playing with the skill that had garnered him his A+ ranking, he took the next two games for the win.

June 6 was John Alicea’s day to shine, and his undefeated run through a field of 48 earned him first place on the Tri-State Tour stop.

Results:
1st John Alicea $1,190
2nd Tony Eglesias $710
3rd Alex Berszinn $420
4th Mike Panzarella $250
5th Nicholas Cahn $160
Bernie Chua
7th Stuart Warnock $120
Ron Mason
9th Robert Kite $90
Brian Hunter
Dan Li
Jeff Dworzanski